Afterworld
by Kairan1979
Summary: Summary: AU. In a post-apocalyptic world, new generation of Watchmen faces new enemies and new challenges. Pairings: NO / SS, SS / R one-sided .
1. Rorschach

**Summary**: AU. _In a post-apocalyptic world, new generation of Watchmen faces new enemies and new challenges. Pairings: NO / SS, SS / R (one-sided)._

* * *

**1.**

_Roschach's Journal._

_December 26__th__, 2105._

_Watchmen on patrol. Satellite located multiple signals. Must be Sand People. They are going to raid again; must be stopped._

_Observed the other Watchmen before landing. Backseat allows keeping an eye on all of them. Don't like what I see. Nite Owl and Silk Spectre are rookies. Comedian is a good fighter, but he is sexually attracted to Silk Spectre, she distracts him. Useless to talk to Comedian; don't like pity looks he gives me. Same problem with Nite Owl. Caught frequent glances in her direction; constant daydreaming. Just as annoying as Comedian's flirting. _

_Silk Spectre is unreliable. Doesn't like Comedian's advances; expected her to do something to stop him; she did nothing. Noticed an expectant gaze towards our seats. Wants Nite Owl to step in? Uses Comedian to attract his attention? Enjoys being a center of attention of two men at once? Disgusting. Women can't be trusted._

_Old Hooded Justice was twice a warrior as three of them combined. Too bad he had to retire after losing a leg, New Hooded Justice is good, but he went on peacekeeping mission with Captain Metropolis and Silhouette. Fool's quest. Words weight nothing. Good intentions mean nothing. Peace can only be kept by force._

_Must concentrate on the surroundings. See enemy before he sees us. Lost previous Silk Spectre in the ambush; weren't careful enough. Not my fault; wasn't out of Hospital yet when it happened. Don't want to lose another one of the Watchmen._

_Must figure out how they fooled Mothman. Why he failed to detect Sand People. Not the smartest of us, but the radar was in working order._

_Preparing for landing… _

_

* * *

_Data from the satellite wasn't flawed. Sand People were on the warpath again. And now they attacked a caravan of settlers.

Rorschach heard multiple gunshots. Caravan master organized a line of defense, but there's only so much that can be done when you are attacked by a tribe of bloodthirsty savages.

It was a job for Watchmen.

He pulled out the guns, found the closest group of raiders and started shooting.

_Three down, two to go._

Light exosuit allowed stealth movement and provided better camouflage, at the expense of the armor and built-in weaponry. It was perfect for scouting, but in battle Rorschach often felt the lack of firepower. If he was Comedian, he'd just use grenade launcher or flamethrower to take out all of them.

Rorschach saw Nite Owl and Silk Spectre defending caravan from Sand People who came too close in their bloodlust. He saw Comedian, laughing, and river of bullets from his machine gun.

_Where's Mothman? _

Sand People yelled, pointing out at the new enemies. They recognized Watchmen. Good. These savages have a lot of reasons to be afraid of Watchmen. And fear is a weapon.

_Four down, one… no, two to go!_

Silk Spectre lost one of her guns when she was hit by a bullet. Light exosuit can't absorb the damage completely. Nite Owl rushed to cover her.

Rorschach killed the last of 'his' raiders and started looking for their chieftain. That's when he heard the sound of Mothra's engines and the Gatling gun singing the song of death.

"Rorschach to Mothman! Forget the gun, use flamethrower!"

"Do whatever you want on the ground, Rory! But the skies belong to Mothman!"

Rorschach grumbled "Pompous bastard!", then gritted his teeth and turned off the communicator to kill as much Sand People as it's possible before their inevitable escape.

* * *

The settlers rejoiced; they were saved just in time, saved by legendary heroes, the Watchmen. Rorschach wasn't in the mood for the party; he was sick and tired of empty victories.

When Mothra landed, he left Nite Owl and Silk Spectre at the makeshift camp. He needed to talk to Mothman.

He approached the pilot, who was painting new stars on Mothra's wings, and said, "Wasted too much bullets. Could have used flamethrowers".

"Flamethrowers are for monsters, Rory".

"Sand People are the monsters".

"And according to them, _we_ are the monsters. So what? Let's kill each other?"

"Sand People don't want to die in fire. It's against their religion. Could have used their fears and superstitions, to scare them for good, to make them stop the raids. But you didn't. They ran away, to come back later. They always come back," Rorschach was spitting out the words. "You are too soft, Mothman! All of you are too soft! Can't do what needs to be done! You'll get killed if you don't take this war seriously!"

Mothman replied carelessly, "What a pity! And I thought I'd live forever!"

"Leave jokes to Comedian. Yours are not funny".

Rorschach noticed that Nite Owl and Silk Spectre left settlers and now they can hear him talking to Mothman.

Nite Owl said, "Seriously, Rorschach, what's the deal with you? Why are you upset so much? We won, settlers are saved, what else do you want?"

_What else do you want? _Rorschach thought for a moment. He can explain, but can he make them understand? One way to find out.

"It was my first mission. A band of Screaming Skulls attacked a camp of Sand People. Warriors of the tribe weren't' in the camp; left old men to protect women and children. They stood no chance against raiders. Screaming Skulls killed old men and children. They left young women alive to rape them. Were too busy satisfying their flesh; couldn't raise the guns in time when we attacked".

Rorschach's tale wakened painful memories; he shrugged off the pain before continuing his tale.

"The leader was alive. Tortured him; learned that only half of the gang was here. The rest of them were heading to the hills, to hide the loot. Wanted to pursue them. Silhouette stopped us. Sand People or not, they were women and they were rape victims. That's what she said; Silhouette tended to their wounds, left some food and water for them. I was losing patience. Couldn't let Screaming Skulls get away. Almost lost their trail because of the delay. Used rockets to create the rockslide; sealed the passage. Screaming Skulls couldn't escape; they were sitting ducks. Justice was served.

Silhouette said that we must return, check on women. When we came back...," black and white spots on the mask shifted angrily, "the women were dead. Not by Screaming Skulls; warriors of the tribe did it. Stoned to death because they were raped; tainted by rape, disgraced the tribe. Sand People killed their own women, women they couldn't protect", Rorschach concluded, "Sand People are monsters. No mercy for them". Rorschach repeated, "**No mercy**".

_(To be continued…)_


	2. Nite Owl

**2.**

"**No mercy**".

Rorschach's words always left a bad taste in his mouth. He can be right about Sand People – Hank wasn't fond of them too, but Nite Owl refused to accept that the violence is the only solution to everything.

_If the only tool you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail._

Caravan master joined them, so did Frank Montgomery, the Comedian. Leader of settlers, dark-haired man at his fifties, looked like a former soldier. He held one arm at his side as if it were injured.

"I can't thank you enough for saving our lives!" he exclaimed, enthusiastically. "You, Watchmen, are the best thing that happened to this world since Joanne of Arc! We'll be forever in your debt!"

"For starters, why don't you tell us why your people decided to leave the City?"

Caravan master made a wry face, "Our Major must have been dropped on his head, because he declared himself a President of New United States. Too bad he forgot to warn the other Majors about his great idea_"_.

Comedian whistled loudly.

Some people always dreamed about restoration of United States. And every time The Star-Spangled Banner was raised, it resulted in very grave consequences for the people in common. It was just as hopeless as an attempt to create a Coalition of the Cities twenty years ago. Majors never got past question "Who's gonna be in charge?"

Silk Spectre asked, "Let me guess. Economical sanctions? Trade blockade? Uprising? Martial law?"

"Yes, but I didn't want to wait until this cretin declares the martial law. I retired from the Defence Forces, gathered a group of smart men, collected the needed supplies, then we repaired a handful of old vehicles and left".

"And what did you expect to find in the wilderness? The world became a dangerous place. Cities aren't perfect, but at least you are protected from the outside dangers… well, most of them".

Caravan master answered with sparkling eyes, "Hidden City!"

He couldn't notice Mothman and Rorschach exchanging glances from behind his back.

Comedian said, "Hidden City..? Sorry, pal. We saved you, but if you are looking for myths, then you are on your own".

* * *

Hidden City was a myth, but myth based on reality. The secret of Sanctuary, underground bunker created by Adrian Veidt in case of nuclear war, couldn't stay buried forever. Watchmen couldn't stop rumors from spreading, and couldn't open the doors to the Sanctuary to everybody.

Their problems were more than real. Sanctuary's capacity was far from unlimited. Adrian Veidt was a genius, but even the smartest man in the world can't turn water into wine. What happens when Sanctuary's population reaches its limit? When hydroponic gardens can't provide enough food? Second generation of Watchmen saw the problem and set the rules. And new Watchmen obeyed rules to the letter.

"Dangerous road," Rorschach said in a monotone voice. "Sand vortex. A monster we missed. Children of Dead World. One way or another, they'll be dead soon".

Silk Spectre asked fiercely, "How can you be so cruel?". Anger made Amanda even more beautiful than ever.

"I'm Rorschach. I'm as cruel as it's needed".

"And I'm too soft?"

"You are".

Nite Owl wondered why Rorschach was so rude. Amanda did nothing to deserve this kind of treatment from him. Nite Owl looked at shifting black and white spots on the mask … and said nothing.

"Founding fathers were right. Set the rules to protect Sanctuary from unworthily ones. Sanctuary must be strong, not poisoned by cowardice".

"Those people are not cowards. You saw their leader, saw them in fight with Sand People, isn't it enough for you?"

"Cornered rat fights too, it proves nothing. We are defined by the decisions we made. They are unworthily. Could have stayed in their City and fight for its survival; chose an easy way out. Sanctuary isn't a place for deserters".

* * *

Nite Owl listened to them inattentively, consumed by Amanda's oval face, half-hidden behind the protective mask.

When she was around, he felt his knees weakening, and his tongue stumbling upon teeth. He'd trade five years of life for Frank's ability to smooth-talk his way into what he wants.

What can he do to make Silk Specter see him as more than just a good friend? Can he do something – anything – to make her notice his feelings? Or it's just a wishful thinking?

The oldest man in the Sanctuary, former Captain Metropolis, told him once,_ "Nobody asks you to become Hollis Mason or Daniel Dreiberg. All I ask of you is to be Henry McQueen"._

Hank knew that old man was right. He can spent twenty four hours a day in the Gym, but he'd never achieve the brute strength of Hooded Justice, or Rorschach's combination of fierceness and agility.

If only he could impress Mandy by new invention... but Hank knew that her heart wasn't in it. Amanda was just as practical as Steve... Rorschach. She'd never understand inventing for the sake of inventing.

Lucky for him, HJ was married, and Rorschach never expressed an interest in women. These two weren't a competition. He couldn't say the same about Comedian. Yes, Frank was after Amanda only because she successfully resisted his charms. But his heavy flirting was more than enough for Hank to consider Comedian a rival.

Thank God, Frank Montgomery never dealt with women like Mandy. What kind of birthday gift for a girl – any girl - is a rifle with armor-piercing rounds anyway? Or electric knuckles with extra charge?

Hank was secretly working on in the Workshop for three months, afraid that Amanda notices his preparations before the birthday.

_If she sees her face in the mirror of my art, maybe she'd understand my feelings. And if it doesn't work, there's always Plan B._

Rorschach rudely interrupted his daydreaming, **"Pay attention. Not out of the woods yet".**

_(To be continued…)_


	3. Silk Spectre

**3.**

_**"**_**Pay attention. Not out of the woods yet**_**". **_

Amanda Wilson rolled her eyes.

_Legendary heroes, my butt! _

It was another side of being part of Inner Circle. See the Watchmen and realize that the knights in shining exosuits are far from saintly.

But who can blame kids from the Sanctuary for dreaming of becoming Watchmen? Exosuits that turned wearers into supermen, journeys outside, gathering news about the world, fighting bad guys and defending the Sanctuary – it was life as an endless adventure!

Young Mandy Wilson did everything in her power to make her dreams come true.

When her training started, Amanda learned, much to her dismay, that she was too slow and clumsy. But she worked like hell, pushed herself mercilessly, finally convincing Hooded Justice to train her personally.

Amanda defeated the fear of heights; she asked Silhouette if the older woman needs help in hospital, to get rid of squeamishness and fear of blood. She learned how to resist pain, cold and hunger.

Amanda's efforts weren't for naught – a place in the Inner Circle awaited for her when previous Silk Spectre was killed in ambush.

_But, to be honest, you'd never make it without the support from Hank and Steve. _

Amanda knew Hank McQueen since he was five. Short, a bit shy, he liked history and old movies. Hank became an apprentice of the former Nite Owl after he was caught red-handed in the Workshop, trying to make her a birthday gift. Of course, Hank wanted to become a Watchman too.

If Steven Bennett dreamed of something, he never told about it. Gray hair and piercing dark eyes on the face of ten-year old boy mirrored the horrors he faced before Hooded Justice and Mothman rescued him. Steven wasn't much of a talker, but he excelled in everything he was interested in. From martial arts and tracking to chemistry and forensic science, Steve was preparing himself to everything life can throw at him.

* * *

"Hey, sweetie, why the long face?"

_Not Comedian again! _

Frank's Heavy Exosuit made flirting just as awkward as dancing with both legs broken, and she was grateful for this. All she wanted to be left alone to think.

Frank Montgomery wasn't nearly as good as he thought. Amanda promised herself to teach him a good lesson; but not today, and not before the mission is over.

Amanda looked at the other two Watchmen, still arguing. She could feel Nite Owl's agitation and Rorschach's annoyance.

Hank smiled sheepishly when he saw that she was looking at him. Amanda sighed. She could imagine what he was thinking about. Nite Owl and Silk Spectre, Laurie Jupiter and Daniel Dreiberg.

Hank was good, and kind, and funny, he knew her better than anyone else in the world. But Amanda couldn't be his Laurie, because Hank wasn't the man she wanted. And she had absolutely no idea how to tell Hank about it without hurting her best friend.

When Mandy was fourteen, she saw the movie about Red Sonja, legendary warrior woman from the World-That-Was. Red Sonja swore an oath that no man can ever have her, unless he defeated her in a fair combat. Amanda Wilson thought that it's a bit extreme, but she understood Sonja's wish to find a man who can be her equal.

Hooded Justice was married. Comedian was out of equation – the word "monogamy" was not in his dictionary, and Amanda refused to be one of many. Mothman barely finished the fighting classes. And Roschach...

_When I though of him as Steven last time?_

Steve Bennett was shocked when the Inner Circle chose him to replace Rorschach.

Amanda was ecstatic, it was almost like _she_ was Chosen. But after Steven became Rorschach, something weird happened. New Rorschach closed himself from everybody, including Hank and Amanda. She could barely recognize him now; and she was clueless why the man she thought she knew changed so much.

At first Mandy thought that he started seeing himself above the others. She learned the truth only when it was her turn to become one of the Watchmen. Former Captain Metropolis talked to her after ceremony, telling her a lot of things kept in secret from the people of Sanctuary. She asked old man about Rorschach.

_"I wish it was so simple, child. I can deal with a pride of the young warrior, but not with Rorschach's Journal"._

_Amanda wasn't sure that she got this right. _

_"There's a reason we never allow civilians to read the Journal. It poisons their minds, filling young men with despair and hatred. But for new Rorschachs it's even worse. I don't think that Walter Kovacks understood the hidden power of his words when he wrote the Journal. Somehow, sooner or later, they all start associating themselves with a man who wrote it, and then turn into carbon copies of Kovacks. Don't ask me how it happens, or why; I don't have answers. We call it The Curse of Rorschach. I tried to warn Steven about the book, just like I warned Robert Keller, his predecessor. Bob couldn't escape the transformation and neither could Steve. Try to deal with it, Mandy. Your childhood friend doesn't exist anymore. There's only Rorschach"._

_"And there's nothing to be done?" _

_"If it was up to me to decide, I'd burn the damn book. But Journal is one of our relics, you can't just destroy it. And there's more". Old man "Amanda, Sanctuary needs Rorschach. He is paranoid, but he notices dangers that the others overlooked, and fights twice as fierce as before. When Chameleon sneaked into Sanctuary, it was Rorschach who defeated him. He found the monster when nobody else could, and killed Chameleon. Hooded Justice and Captain Metropolis tried do it together, and failed. That's Rorschach for you. And that's why we keep the book"._

Amanda read Rorschach's Journal. Twice. And she saw the true face of Rorschach - twisted paranoid man with tunnel vision who treated all the women as whores. And Sanctuary needs this abomination? Rorschach was a survivor, she couldn't deny it. But the life is much more than survival.

Silk Specter missed an old friend, and didn't like the stranger he had become, and wanted old Steven back.

Or was it something more? Steven wasn't handsome devil like Frank Montgomery. He wasn't sweet guy like Hank. Old book turned him into cold unfeeling warrior. And yet she couldn't shake off the attraction to him.

Curse of Rorschach was an ultimate challenge. Can she penetrate invisible wall that Steven created around himself? Can she find the man behind the mask?

Amanda Wilson never backed up from the challenge. And she refused to be defeated by an old book.

**The End.**


End file.
